Sleep
by jemb
Summary: UPDATED with a second chapter coz you all told me to continue. brennan gets released and Booth's there to help her
1. Chapter 1

**_Been working on this for a while. Not totally happy with it but it's fluffy and stuff_**

SLEEP

Brennan turns her head and her eyes widen in fear as the two headlights grow bigger and brighter. There is nothing she can do as the other vehicle collides with hers, sending them both spinning across the junction. Her airbag deploys and as the cars come to a rest, Brennan's head falls into the airbag. She remains motionless as activity flurries around her. Smoke billows from her engine and the pavement is slowly covered in leaking gas and oil.

Booth arrives at the Jeffersonian medico-legal lab on Monday morning in his usual cheerful mood. But he finds the squints aren't sharing his disposition. Zach is very quiet and Hodgins, who is normally quiet anyway seems more sullen than normal.

"Hey Angela. Has Bones got you lot working through the night with her?" he asks as he ascends the steps to the centre lab. "Where is she anyway?" he is a little surprised she isn't there.

"Booth." Angela says. "You haven't heard." She sighs when she realises he doesn't know. She didn't think to call him at the weekend.

"Heard what?" he asks curiously with his head cocked to the side.

"There was an accident." Angela starts.

"Bones?" he asks.

"She's in the hospital." Angela tells him. Booth sighs with relief that she isn't dead. "But she's in a coma." Angela walks over to Booth and places her hand on his arm.

"When did it happen?" he asks.

"Saturday night." Angela explains. Booth shakes his head. He hadn't seen or spoken to her since Friday. That was nothing unusual but part of him feels like he should have known, like he should have been called. "The Doctors don't know if she'll wake up." Angela tells him. Tears are burning behind her eyes but she can't cry again. She's spent all weekend crying.

"Which hospital is she in?" Booth asks.

Armed with the hosptial information he turns around and walks back down the stairs and out the lab. As Angela watches him going, shoulders hunched and head hanging, she realises should have called him when she found out. He is a friend after all. He should have known sooner.

The nurse working at the nurses' station sees a tall handsome man walking towards her. She knows immediately that he is here to visit someone close to him who is very sick. Her years in the hospital had taught her to recognise the face of disbelief, pain, hurt and anger that someone feels when a loved one is brought in. He approaches her and places his hands on the desk.

"Can you tell me which room Temperance Brennan is in?" he asks. "She was brought in Saturday night, a car accident." He tells the nurse. He sees sympathy in her eyes when she looks at him before checking the computer.

"She's in intensive care on the fifth floor. Room 518." She says. "The elevator is right over there." She points Booth in the right direction and silently he turns and walks away. His heart is heavy and he feels like someone has kicked him in the stomach.

When Booth reaches Brennan's room he stands outside staring through the window, unable to bring himself to go in just yet.

"Good morning, I'm Dr Harris." A deep voice booms out to Booth. He turns his head and comes face to face with a tall dark skinned man. "You can go in if you want." He says.

"How is she?" Booth asks. His voice is quiet and lacking its usual energy.

"She's stable but in a coma. Are you family?" he asks.

"She doesn't have any family." He states. "I'm a close friend." He adds.

"Ms Brennan suffered a severe head trauma in the accident. There is a lot of swelling which is what is causing the coma. We hope the swelling will go down and she'll regain consciousness. She was lucky though, no other injuries except a few cuts, scratches and bruises." Dr Harris explains. "If she wakes up soon she should make a full recovery."

"And if she doesn't?" Booth asks. The Doctor sighs.

"The longer she is in the coma the less chance there is of her waking up. Worst case scenario is she remains in this state for the rest of her natural life. Best case scenario is she wakes up tomorrow."

"But there's no way to tell what's going to happen?" Booth asks.

"She's unresponsive at the moment but that could change very quickly. She's a strong healthy young woman and I have every belief that she can make a quick recovery."

"Thanks Doc." Booth turns back to the window.

"If you need anything, I'll be on the floor." He tells Booth who only nods in response.

It takes Booth a further twenty minutes to actually walk into the hospital room. He is shocked by Brennan's appearance. There are tubes and drips going in and out of her arms and her head is all bandaged up. Monitors beep and flash at the side of the bed indicating her vital signs. As he walks closer he can see the bruising around her eyes. She looks like someone has punched her in each eye really hard. He thinks how fragile she looks. He's not used to that. Bones has always been strong and independent. She can flip a man twice her size if he threatens her safety. Booth has always been wary of that.

"It's alright, you can go closer." A female voice says from the doorway. Booth looks around and sees an older nurse standing with a flipchart.

"Don't mind me, I just need to make a few notes." The nurse walks right over to the bed and checks the drips. "Honey you got yourself a visitor." She says to Brennan. "A handsome young gentleman to be exact."

"Can she hear you?" Booth asks.

"We don't know but some Doctors believe talking to coma patients can help them wake up, especially if they hear the familiar voices of friends and family." The nurse says. "The way I see it, if they hear you and it helps, great. If they don't you don't have to feel like an idiot because no one has to know." She smiles. "Go ahead honey, give it a try. It might even help you." The nurse walks back over to him. "She's still in there somewhere." She adds as she heads out the door.

Booth sits silent in the chair beside the bed. Brennan hasn't moved a muscle the whole time he's been here and that's going on for three hours. He finds it hard to see her like this, she's usually so full of energy. He also hasn't built up the courage to talk to her. He feels a little stupid doing it so he just sits and watches her, thinking about what he'd do if she doesn't wake up.

His thoughts are interrupted by Angela arriving. She walks in, not expecting to find Booth still here.

"Booth?" she asks in a surprised voice.

"Hey Angela." He replies. She walks over and places a vase of flowers by the bed.

"Hey sweetie, I brought fresh flowers today, they smell really good." She talks as if Brennan can answer. "Oh and Zach is really excited. He was working on that skeleton you didn't finish, civil war soldier number 3123. He's spent all day working on it and he got an ID. You would have been really proud of him." Angela looks over at Booth. "You know Booth, I'm really sorry." Angela says.

"For what?" Booth asks.

"I should have called you." Angela tells him. "When it happened, I should have thought to call."

"It doesn't matter."

"No it does. We're all friends now, you had a right to know, not have it sprung on you like this morning." Angela walks around and sits on the edge of Brennan's bed facing Booth.

"I'm sorry." She repeats.

"It's okay Angela." Booth stands up and Angela rises too. "I should get going." He says. "I'll see you later." He is about to head for the door but Angela grabs him and wraps her arms around his neck. Booth hugs her back, surprised at his own actions.

"She's going to be okay Booth." Angela says before she pulls back. Booth just nods and walks to the door. He glances back one last time before he walks out leaving Angela and Brennan alone.

Booth returns to the hospital later in the evening. The cards in the room tell him Zach and Hodgins have been by since this afternoon. Booth deposits the small potted plant he brought beside the bed.

"Flowers don't last very long so I brought you a plant." He says before he realises what he's doing. He realises it isn't so hard to talk to her so he takes off his jacket and sits down in the chair. Loosening his tie he tells her about his afternoon at work.

"Okay, so that must have bored you." He says when he's done. "Um, I'm thinking about getting a puppy. I used to have one when I was a kid and I thought it might be cool for when Parker comes to visit." He says. "I can't decide between a Spaniel or a Labrador." He sits back in the chair. "Wake up and you can let me know what you think." He says. Part of him hopes she will just wake up right then and there. But she doesn't and the pain hits him in the chest. He realises she might never wake up.

A few hours pass and Booth realises he should go home and get some sleep. He puts his jacket on again and is about to walk out the room but he is drawn back to her. He plants kiss delicately on her forehead then leaves. As he walks out he doesn't see Angela hovering by a wall behind him. She smiles as he leaves, having heard what he'd been saying for the last twenty minutes.

For the next few days Booth visits Brennan before work and over lunch. After work he stays until the nurses kick him out, all the time telling her mundane things and making jokes. Angela is often there too. They both care for Brennan a lot, but in very different ways. As the days pass the bruising on Brennan's face clears and her cuts and scratches start to heal. Everyone hopes the same healing is going on inside her head.

Exactly a week after the accident, Booth is sitting with Brennan. He picks up her hand and holds it, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb.

"Come on Bones, this is getting a little tiresome. I know you've been working hard but there are easier ways to get a break. Like take a vacation." He says with a smile. "It's much more fun going kayaking in Jamaica than lying here in a hospital bed." He stares down at her. "Bones, I care about you too much to see you waste away. So if you have any sense you'll wake up right now and start living life again." His voice is raised and quite forceful. He is about to put her hand back down when he feels a very light but definite squeeze. His heard starts to race and his eyes dart over her face looking for signs of life.

"Bones?" he stands up and leans over her. "Bones, squeeze my hand." He says. Again, he feels a squeeze. He reaches over and presses the buzzer for the nurse with his free hand. In a few seconds a nurse comes running in.

"What's wrong?" she asks.

"Nothing is wrong, she squeezed my hand." Booth looks over and smiles at the nurse.

"I'll get the doctor." The nurse runs out again.

"Come on Bones, open your eyes." He encourages. "If you don't, I'm going to stay here twenty four hours a day and bug you until you do." He threatens. Like he has worked some magic, Brennan's eyes begin to flutter. She blinks them open and a soft moan escapes her lips.

The voice that has been talking to her has been getting louder. The first time she heard him he was quiet and distant. But now it's like he's right there in her head and he's starting to annoy her. The only way to shut him up seems to be to do as he asks. Her eyelids feel heavy but she forces them open. All she sees at first is a bright white light but as she blinks a few times the light dims and a face comes into view; a familiar face with a broad smile going from ear to ear.

"Hey, are you back with me?" he asks. In her head she is telling him to stop talking, she has a headache. But all she hears coming out her mouth is a moan. She panics about why she can't say what she's thinking.

"Temperance, I'm Dr Harris. Can you hear me?" Brennan nods as she seems unable to say 'yes'. She takes in the blurry figure of a dark skinned older man.

"Do you know where you are?" he asks.

"Hospital." She whispers. _Finally I can say what I'm thinking._

"That's right. Do you remember what happened?"

"No." she whispers. She remembers a lot of noise and lights but nothing else. "Booth." His name is the next word to come out her mouth.

"I'm right here." He leans over her again and his face is clearer this time. She can make out his eyes. He's still gripping her hand, like he's never going to let go. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Temperance, we need to run a few tests okay." Dr Harris says. Brennan nods but the movement makes her head explode with pain. She cries out and grips Booth's hand hard. Despite the pain she is obviously in Booth can tell from the strength in her hand that she is going to be fine.

"Agent Booth." Dr Harris turns to the agent. "We'll need you to wait in the hall." He says. Booth doesn't want to go but he knows he has to. He leans over and kisses Brennan's forehead.

"I'll call Angela." He tells her. Brennan nods very gently, pain still rocketing through her skull.

"Booth." Brennan calls quietly. Booth returns to her side. He is confused by the slight smile tugging at her lips. "Get a Labrador." Booth is taken aback by her words and a confused look spreads across his face as he walks into the hall. _If she heard me talking about the puppy, she heard me telling her I love her_.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Argh. it's hard having two stories on the go at once. Damn you all for requesting continuations of Sleep and Gone! Only kidding. It's so flattering that you like the stories so much. Especially Gone coz I wrote that first chapter in like an hour. _**

**_Anyway, as you can see I've decided to continue both stories and will do for as long as the reviews come in and I have inspiration. I doubt they'll be very long like my main stories were (I'm still working on the third part of the If your world falls apart...and Relationships and Road trips stories) but I'll do my best to please all the shippers out there. _**

**_Enjoy the updates_**

CHAPTER TWO

Booth arrives at the hospital in the early afternoon, three days after Brennan woke from the coma. He had been there when she woke up and the feelings he had when she opened her eyes cannot be described. He thought he was going to lose her but she came back. _All I have to worry about now is that she probably heard me telling her I was in love with her_. So far Brennan has failed to mention it at all during his daily visits and Booth isn't sure if that's because she didn't hear it, she did hear it and doesn't feel the same or she did hear it, feels the same but is scared to admit it. _I might never know_.

When Booth walks into Brennan's room she up, dressed in black sweat pants with an overly large hooded sweater. She's packing her things into a small backpack.

"Bones. What's going on?" he asks. She slowly turns to face him.

"I'm going home." She states.

"Isn't it a bit soon?" Booth crosses the room to her side, seeing how tense she is.

"No. Dr Harris is happy to discharge me." She states. Her shoulders suddenly relax and she turns to face him. "I'm going crazy in here Booth." She tells him. "I need to be in my own home." Booth gives her shoulder a little squeeze.

"I'll give you a ride." He smiles. _There's no point in arguing with her_ he knows. Booth hovers close by as Brennan packs away the last of the few items she had at the hospital. Angela had brought by some clothes and books because she knew Brennan would hate having to wear hospital gowns and would be bored.

Twenty minutes later Dr Harris arrives at Brennan's room with the paperwork. He passes her a form to sign which she does so without hesitation.

"Now Temperance, I can't stress how important it is that you spend the next three weeks resting." Dr Harris says. He's grateful Booth is in the room to hear this because he senses this woman is the type to ignore this advice. "No work and no strenuous activity. Your body needs time to recover. You may feel alright now but there's a lot of healing still going on."

"I promise." Brennan smiles.

"And don't be worried if you have a few bad headaches. Your brain was essentially damaged in the accident and the healing process can cause some pain. You've got a prescription for painkillers. Take them when you need to." Dr Harris adds. "And don't forget to make an appointment for a follow up scan in four weeks." he reminds her.

"I won't. Thanks for everything Dr Harris." Brennan goes to pick up the bag but Booth beats her to it.

"Yes, thanks Doc." Booth seconds Brennan's thanks and slings her bag over his shoulder.

"You're welcome. Goodbye now."

Outside Brennan's house, Booth jumps out the car and runs around to Brennan's side, pulling the door open before she has her seatbelt off. He grabs her bag from the back seat as she slides out and closes the door.

"Okay?" he checks. Brennan nods. She finds this caring side of Booth endearing. _Maybe because he loves me_ she thinks. As they walk up the path, Brennan feels Booth's arm slip around her waist and his hand take her elbow.

"I'm not an invalid." She smiles. _But it feels nice to have your arm around me_ she thinks.

"I know." Booth looks at the ground as they step up to the front door. He pulls her keys from his pocket. Brennan wonders why he has them but she's feeling a little tired and can't be bothered to ask. Booth unlocks her door and guides her inside with his hand on her lower back.

"Booth." She gasps when she sees her living room. The place is filled with flowers.

"I brought them round, they were taking up too much space in your office." He smiles. "Looks like you've got a lot of admirers." He grins. Brennan walks over to the first vase and looks at the card. She smiles when she sees they are from Zach and Hodgins. As she makes her way around the room she checks all the cards, seeing the people who care about her enough to send flowers.

"Wow." She gasps. the she sets sights on a single red rose in a tall thin vase. The card attached simply says 'Booth'. Brennan smiles inwardly.

"Okay, now you need to rest." Booth places her bag on the floor by the couch.

"Booth, please." Brennan rolls her eyes.

"No arguments Bones. Go lie down." he orders, pointing in the direction of the bedroom. "I'll come see you tomorrow." he says. "Call if you need anything." he says as he backs towards the door.

"Thanks Booth." Brennan says. "Drive safe." she adds as he walks out the door. She notices her stomach does a little flip and sink thing when he leaves. _I don't really want him to leave_ she realises.

The next afternoon Booth rings Brennan's doorbell for the second time. _She should be answering_ he thinks. Her car is here, she isn't supposed to be going anywhere or doing anything. He knocks hard on the door then tries the handle. It opens. _She's home_. Booth starts to worry about why Brennan didn't answer the door. He gets his answer a moment later when he walks through the house and reaches her kitchen.

"Bones." He gasps and rushes over to her. Brennan is slumped on the kitchen floor, her back resting against the cupboards. She looks pale and tired but a small smile tugs at her lips when she sees Booth. "What happened, are you hurt?" he asks as he kneels at her side. Brennan shakes her head. _I knew I shouldn't have been cleaning_ she scolds herself. _Too much too soon_. Booth checks Brennan over himself, his eyes moving from her head down to her feet. Then he spots the vacuum cleaner in the corner and the dusters on the table.

"Bones, you're not supposed to be doing anything energetic." Booth tells her. "Let's get you to bed."

"No." Brennan says. "I'm tired of bed." She rests her head against he cupboard.

"Fine, I'll take you to the couch then. Either way you're not moving anywhere for the rest of the day." Shebraces her hand on Booth's shoulder, intending on using him to stand up. But Booth slips an arm under her legs and another across her back before she can move. Rising to his feet he lifts Brennan in his arms. He holds her close to his body and feels her head roll onto his shoulder. Looking down he can see her eyes almost closing. Booth takes the short walk to the couch then gently lays Brennan down. He brushes the hair from her face as she struggles to keep her eyes open.

"Bones, you have to listen to the Doctor. I know you want everything to go back to normal but it'll take time." He tells her as he sits on the edge of the couch looking down at her. His hand grasps hers and his thumb strokes over the palm of her hand. "I have to get back to work but will you promise me you won't move for the next couple of hours?" he asks.

"Fine." Brennan sighs. _I couldn't move even if I wanted to. I'm too tired_. Booth leans over and lays a gentle kiss on her forehead. He's a little worried about her but she looks like she's going to sleep for a while so he goes, promising her he'll come back when he can.

Late in the evening,Booth lets himself into Brennan's house. She isn't in the living room so he figures she's resting in bed. He places the groceries he picked up for her in the kitchen and walks through to the bedroom. Her door is closed so he knocks gently.

"It's Booth." He calls through. He gets no answers so he opens the door a little. The room is almost in darkness. He looks at the bed and sees Brennan curled up on her sidein the middle of the bed, her knees close to her chest.

"Bones?" he asks. She moans and opens her eyes. "What's wrong?" he asks as he rushes over to the bed.

"Headache." She whispers.

"Is it bad?" Booth asks. Brennan nods and closes her eyes again. "Did you take the painkillers?" he asks. She shakes her head. _She's probably in too much pain to get up_ Booth realises. "Do you want me to get them for you?" he asks. Brennan nods. "I'll be right back."

Booth pours a glass of water and finds the painkillers out on the counter. Taking two out, he goes back to Brennan. He sits down on the bed next to her and places the water on the table. She drags herself up, her hand flying to the side of her head. Booth instinctively reaches out and runs his hands through her hair. Brennan takes the pills Booth passes to her and swallows them. Booth then passes her the water and she takes a sip. Exhausted, she slumps back. Booth doesn't know what else to do. He can see she's in pain but he can't do anything to take it away.

"Can I do anything?" he asks quietly. Brennan's answer surprises him.

"Hold me." She whispers. Booth doesn't move for a moment, taken aback by Brennan's request. But gathering his senses he turns around and moves further onto the bed. He gathers Brennan in his arms and lets her sink into him, her head resting on his chest and her arm grasping the fabric of his shirt over his stomach. He rubs gentle circles on her back and strokes her hair, feeling somewhat helpless. He feels more helpless when moments later he hears quiet sobs coming from Brennan. Looking down he sees tears falling down her cheeks.

"Oh Bones." He whispers. He leans down and kisses the top of her head. "It's okay. It's okay." He tells her. She continues to cry for some time and Booth feels nothing but helplessness. All he wants is to make her better but he can't. After about an hour Booth realises the crying has stopped and Brennan is asleep. Her breathing is rhythmic and her grip on his shirt has loosened. Not wanting to disturb her, Booth doesn't move. _She needs rest_ he tells himself.

Several hours later Brennan wakes from her sleep. The headache that immobilised her earlier has all but gone. She also realises she's still lying in Booth's arms. _I can't believe I asked him to hold me_. Lifting her head from his chest she looks up and sees his eyes are closed. But he isn't asleep. His eyes open and those chocolate brown eyes meet hers.

"Feeling better?" he asks. Brennan nods.

"Thank you." She whispers. Booth doesn't reply, he just gives her a squeeze.

"Do you need anything?" he asks. She shakes her head then pushes on Booth to sit up. "Easy Bones." He laughs as she nearly winds him.

"Sorry." She grins. Then she looks at the clock. "Is that the time?" she asks. Booth glances at the clock and nods. _11pm_. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to keep you here." she apologises.

"It's alright Bones." Booth assures her. "I probably should go though." He sits up straight and makes a move to leave. _I don't want to leave_ he thinks. _Please ask me to stay_.

"Okay." Brennan moves across the bed and finds her feet. She braces her hand on the dresser for support as she still feels a little shaky. _Those painkillers are strong._ Booth rises from the bed, rubbing his eyes as he walks around it to the door. Brennan follows and walks him to the door. As Booth steps out she calls to him.

"Yeah?" he asks. _Is she going to ask me to stay?_ He wonders.

"Thanks for staying." She smiles.

"Any time Bones." His heart sinks. "I'll come by tomorrow afternoon okay." He tells her. She nods and watches him walk down the path. She wants to ask him to stay but she can't bring herself to ask him. They haven't spoken about his little confession which she's pretty sure he knows she heard and she's worried if she asks him to stay they'll get into a discussion about it and she's not sure she wants to go there just yet.

Booth spends the next day at work in a daze. He swings by the Jeffersonian to pick up some lab results from Hodgins. Despite Brennan being off, his work continues and with the help of Dr Goodman , Booth's cases are still being looked into.

"Hey Seely." Angela greets him with a smile when he walks in.

"Angela." He grins.

"How's Brennan?" she asks.

"She's okay." He sighs. "She had a bad headache last night."

"You were over?" Angela asks.

"I stopped by with some groceries." Booth explains.

"How is she today?" Angela probes, wondering if Booth stayed over.

"I don't know, I haven't spoken to her today." He says. Angela actually feels her heart sink. She heard Booth confess his love for Brennan in the hospital room and she thought for sure they would have done something about it by now.

"I'll call her later." Angela says. "Uh Hodgins has those results for you. He's hiding from Dr Goodman down the hall." She grins.

"Goodman giving him grief?" Booth asks with a laugh in his voice.

"You know it." Angela laughs back. As Booth turns to leave, Angela can't help but blurt out what she knows.

"I heard what you told her." she says. Booth stops in his tracks and turns around.

"What?" he asks.

"I heard you tell her how you feel." Angela says less than tactfully.

"You heard." Booth nods.

"Does she know?" Angela asks. Booth stays silent for a minute.

"I don't know." He shrugs. "She heard me telling her about getting a puppy for Parker but she hasn't said anything about…that."

"You need to tell her properly." Angela tells him.

"Maybe. But now isn't the time." Booth says.

"Don't leave it too long Booth." Angela warns. Booth nods and carries on to see Hodgins. _She's right but how can I bring it up?_ Booth wonders. _What if she didn't hear that part and I make a fool of myself?_


End file.
